Conversation around building a new arena in Calgary could start up again as early as next week.
The committee set up in May to hit the reset button on the talks is expected to ask Calgary City Council on Tuesday for the OK to engage with the Calgary Flames’ parent company, the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC).
CSEC president Ken King said in September of last year that the team was no longer looking for a new arena in the city, which put the contentious debate on ice indefinitely.
The new “event assessment committee” created in the spring included city councillors, members of the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) and Calgary Economic Development.
Conceptual designs of a possible new arena done by the CMLC were presented to council on Friday, showing how a new building might look in the Victoria Park area of the city.
The design shows a modern arena building sitting among skyscrapers in the background and pedestrians walking through streets in the foreground.
It also features a look inside of a new arena with people filling the seats and floor during a performance.
The CMLC said it has developers who are interested in the arena project.
LISTEN: Coun. Jeff Davison joins Rob Breakenridge to discuss possibly opening up conversations with the Flames on a new arena
More to come…
— With files from Aurelio Perri